IAEA News

SMR Platform: New web portal facilitates technical support

The SMR Platform provides support to countries working to introduce small modular reactors.

(Photo: A. Tarhi/IAEA)

Countries looking to accelerate small modular reactor (SMR) deployment with the help of the IAEA Platform on Small Modular Reactors and their Applications — launched in 2021 to provide support on all aspects of SMR development, deployment, licensing and oversight — can take their first step through a new online portal (https://smr.iaea.org) to access all IAEA services as well as the latest information related to this emerging nuclear power technology.

With more than 80 SMR designs under development in 19 countries and the first SMR units already in operation in China and Russia, SMRs, including microreactors (MRs), are expected to play an increasingly important role in helping to ensure the security of energy supply as well as the global energy transition to net zero. The technology, its safety and economic competitiveness must be fully demonstrated before SMRs can be more widely deployed — and the SMR Platform is already helping governments, prospective operators and regulators in countries such as Brazil and Jordan to address these and related challenges. The portal covers technology development and deployment (including non-electric applications); nuclear safety, security and safeguards; and fuel, the fuel cycle and waste management. The portal’s navigation bar features ten selectable topics that allow users to filter the news, events and publications per subject matter. The portal will be further expanded to incorporate additional features, such as areas for technical working groups, information on national and international SMR projects and programmes, and a version for mobile phones and tablets.

“The portal is designed to serve as a centralized source of information for both external and internal IAEA stakeholders, with different levels of information and data access,” said Stefano Monti, Chair of the SMR Platform Implementation Team and Head of the IAEA’s Nuclear Power Technology Development Section.

SMRs will use prefabricated systems and components to shorten construction schedules, and offer greater flexibility and affordability than traditional nuclear power plants. They have the potential to meet the needs of a wide range of users and to be low carbon replacements for ageing fossil fuel fired power plants. They potentially offer enhanced safety features and are suitable for non-electric applications, such as cooling, heating, hydrogen production and water desalination. SMRs also offer options for countries with smaller electricity grids as well as regions with less developed infrastructure and for energy systems that combine nuclear and alternative sources, including renewables.

The IAEA has in place several activities related to SMRs, which the platform helps to coordinate and on which it provides information. The platform also interfaces with other important IAEA initiatives. For example, the new Nuclear Harmonization and Standardization Initiative (NHSI), which held its kick-off meeting in June 2022, is helping to facilitate the deployment of safe and secure SMRs by harmonization and standardization of regulatory and industrial approaches.

“The IAEA is undertaking important activities on the safety and security of SMRs. For example, we have recently

completed the review of applicability of the safety standards to SMRs and other technologies,” said Paula Calle Vives, Senior Nuclear Safety Officer at the IAEA coordinating SMR safety activities. “We have also developed a programme of work to progressively adjust the safety standards so that they better capture the specificities of these new technologies. The platform will enable us to better disseminate this work to Member States.”

The SMR Platform includes information on activities on SMRs and their applications, with a focus on the technologies closest to nearterm deployment, including supporting industrial preparedness for SMRs and their applications; promoting, supporting, and developing SMR research and innovation; supporting the establishment of institutional, legal, and regulatory frameworks for the deployment of safe and secure SMR operation and decommissioning; and supporting international cooperation on SMRs. In September, the IAEA released a new booklet in connection with the platform, SMRs: A New Nuclear Energy Paradigm, which examines the factors to be considered when deciding whether to adopt SMRs and ways to enable their safe, secure, peaceful and sustainable deployment. The 2022 edition of the biennial booklet entitled Advances in Small Modular Reactor Technology Developments was also published in September.

Countries are already receiving assistance through the SMR Platform and several cross-cutting task forces have been established to address their needs. One of these task forces is helping to organize an expert mission to Jordan to analyse the economics of using SMRs for electricity generation and water desalination. The IAEA is also supporting Brazil in analysing SMR technologies and market readiness, regulatory issues and requirements for SMR siting, and in April took part in a three-day course on SMRs and MRs organized by the Brazilian Association for the Development of Nuclear Activities (ABDAN).

“Amid the energy and climate crises, more and more countries are looking at SMRs as an option to improve energy security and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Monti said. “The IAEA can help them on this journey, which can begin with a visit to the new portal of the IAEA SMR Platform and then, if desired, by lodging a formal request for Agency assistance.”

– By Nicholas Watson and Jeffrey Donovan

IAEA launches early warning notification system to protect nuclear installations from natural hazards

Natural hazards and disasters, such as earthquakes, floods or wildfires, may seriously challenge nuclear installation safety. Therefore, it is crucial not only to predict such events and calculate their magnitude, but also to effectively assess the potential impact on the safety of nuclear installations to utilize appropriate response mechanisms in time. To this end, the IAEA launched the External Events Notification System (EENS) during a side event at the 66th regular session of the IAEA General Conference in September 2022.

EENS is a web-based tool that provides real-time information on external events and hazards, such as earthquakes, tsunamis, volcano eruptions, river and coastal flooding, rotational winds and wildfires that have occurred or are expected to occur, including on their severity and location, as well as estimations of their potential effects on nuclear installations and major population centres. The system collects relevant data and sends it directly to the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre (IEC) and External Event Safety Section (EESS) for assessment.

During the event, Head of the IAEA’s External Events Section Paolo Contri and Senior Safety Officer Ayhan Altinyollar showcased how the EENS works in practice, while IEC Response System Officer Günther Winkler explained the role it plays both within the IEC’s specific work and global nuclear safety and security more broadly. “The EENS is designed to provide initial assessments of the severity of external events on nuclear facilities, which can lead to activations of the IAEA’s Incident and Emergency Centre,” Winkler said. “This tool will help us to promptly identify natural hazards that can affect nuclear or radiation safety in order to exchange information or to coordinate international assistance between Member States.” The event was concluded with a round table, with the participants discussing the data sources for EENS, the on-call process of the IEC and issues of cybersecurity. The EENS is based on a multihazard monitoring and early warning platform and has been developed in collaboration with the University of Hawaii’s Pacific Disaster Center (PDC) and Tenefit, a supplier of risk and impact intelligence to enterprises. “It is a system that will be permanently available to provide 24/7 support to the IAEA, forming a database which can be used for further assessments,” said Chris Chiesa, Deputy Executive Director at the PDC. The customized version, tailored to the needs of the IAEA, has been modified to focus specifically on the impact of hazards on nuclear installations. It consists of two components: the Alert System and the External Event Damage Forecast.

Monitoring and analysing threats in real time

The Alert System monitors — in real time — situations in the vicinity of nuclear installations, and is based on carefully selected indicators, which determine the severity of the event. It

EENS is a web-based tool that provides real-time information on external events and hazards that have occurred or are expected to occur, including on their severity, location and estimations of their potential effects on nuclear installations and major population centres. (Image: PDC)

alerts the IAEA’s IEC when hazards could potentially affect nuclear sites.

The External Event Damage Forecast receives information from the Alert System and produces a preliminary estimation of potential damage to nuclear installations and population centres. This estimation is called an Event Notification Report (ENR), which consists of the basic information about the event, such as magnitude, timing and location, as well as impact projections. This report is essential for evaluation of the lessons learned from recent external events and for assessment of the robustness of nuclear installations, for periodical dissemination to all Member States. “In case of a cyclone, for example, the ENR would include the basic information on the cyclone, with maps, expected storm surge at coastal sites, the possible arrival time and the estimated wind speed at nuclear installation sites. This information is vital for the IEC to be able to swiftly offer its assistance to support an affected country,” Contri explained. “The EENS allows us to monitor the global natural hazard situation in the vicinity of all nuclear installations, not just nuclear power plants, including large cities where radioactive sources may be affected by the hazard. This system is an integral part of IAEA’s work, allowing us to evaluate the situation and help countries mitigate the associated risks. In the years to come, the severity of natural hazards is expected to increase because of climate change. We must be prepared for this.”

The EENS launch includes its first two modules — focusing on earthquake and cyclone prognosis. An additional four modules, on river floods, tsunamis, volcano eruptions and wildfires, are under development and are expected to be operational by mid-2023.

The development of the system has been financially supported by France, Japan and the United States of America.

— By Vladimir Tarakanov

After a 34-year gap, the Philippines has a nuclear facility again

After more than three decades, the Philippines is again operating a nuclear facility. In 2014, a proposal was accepted to utilize fuel elements of a shutdown research reactor for training and education, which the IAEA has been supporting through a series of technical cooperation projects. In the first project, launched in 2016, the IAEA assisted the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) in building capacity in reactor design, neutron dosimetry and regulatory matters related to research reactors.

A second cooperation project followed in 2020 and is ongoing to further build capacity, particularly in reactor engineering and operation, reactor utilization and development of a reactor training programme to sustain local capacity-building activities. “With nuclear power in consideration for the country’s future energy mix and a demand for nuclear technology in different sectors, it is essential to build capacity and develop a new generation of scientists and workforce in this field,” said Syahril Syahril, IAEA Programme Management Officer for the Philippines.

A presidential executive order from earlier this year outlines the

A fuel rod is loaded into the core of a subcritical assembly.

(Photo: PNRI)

Government’s position on the inclusion of nuclear energy in the Philippines’ energy mix. The Philippines built a nuclear power plant in the late 1970s, but the project was stopped in 1986, and fuel was not loaded into it.

Revitalizing nuclear capacity

In June 2022, the PNRI loaded 44 nuclear fuel rods into the core of the newly constructed tank of the Subcritical Assembly for Training, Education and Research (SATER). The fuel rods had been previously stored unused for more than 30 years. The new SATER facility is housed at the Philippine Research Reactor 1 (PRR-1) building and will remain in a subcritical state, which means the nuclear fission chain reaction is dependent on neutrons from an external source. PRR-1 SATER is designed not to reach a critical state, which is when the chain reaction is self-sustaining, under any operational or incidental condition, providing a safe and versatile tool for researchers and students.

The 1-megawatt PRR-1 research reactor had reached criticality in 1963, but it was in extended shut down since 1988. “The activation of PRR-1 SATER is a milestone for the Philippines, as the facility will provide significant support in re-establishing nuclear capabilities in the country,” said Alvie Asuncion-Astronomo, Associate Scientist and former Head of PNRI’s Nuclear Reactor Operations Section. In the past two years, the IAEA assisted the local regulatory and operating staff by providing recommendations on licensing and commissioning PRR-1 SATER. IAEA and international experts participated in various on-site missions.

Subcritical assemblies, such as PRR-1 SATER, are valuable educational and research tools. It will support recently launched nuclear education programmes at the University of the Philippines Diliman and Mapua University. In the field of research, PRR-1 SATER will be used for reactor physics experiments, as well as a demonstration facility for neutron irradiation and neutron activation analysis.

“PRR-1 SATER is expected to be a training reactor for research reactor operators, regulators and users. It also aims to increase the research reactor stakeholder base in the country,” Asuncion-Astronomo said. “The facility is projected to open the whole scientific field of reactor physics and engineering for Filipinos and to pave the way for the Philippines to strengthen its niche in the nuclear field.”

PRR-1 SATER is expected to conclude commissioning tests and become fully operational by 2023.

— By Joanne Liou